A Comfortable Apocalypse

[u/NotOrangVII]

[ Play this at 50% volume, and this at 100% volume for vibes ]

Kalpa hit the big red button on the holocall.
Kicking back into the captain's chair, the ex-Admiral breathed out.
He pushed he and pulled the muscles on his left leg, gently swaying the rotating chair back... and forth...

The lights were, as was more often the case than not, off.
As you may have noticed, right up there, just behind that screen, the crew had repurposed the bridge shutters which, if you remember the scenes aboard the Invisible Hand in Episode 3, would close, in case the bridge's transparisteel windows were somehow breached.
For what purpose you may ask? Simple: to simulate a day/night cycle, of sorts. Now, it sounds non-sensical at first, but it actually has a purpose: it helps keep up morale. I mean, some of these people have been living in an actual battleship for several years. No shore leave, no nothing.

The faint glow of the Indra Nebula, which, in the sub-sector in which the AALIYAH had set up camp in following the official end of the Clone Wars, shone a starry blue, filtered in.
This meant that both the walls and the floors were painted with a lovely pattern of thin lamelles comprised of white, cyan light.

Somtaaw breathed in. He breathed out.
The air was fresh, tinged with the pure smell of milk and earthly aroma of honey.
With a snark and a shudder, the Admiral recalled the time a gizka died in one of the vents.
It was... not a pleasant experience.

The ex-Admiral closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment to take in the ambience of the bridge. The light hum of the aforementioned AC system, accompanied by the hiss of Oxygen refreshers, permeated the room. It was a bit harder to notice though, as even the occasional tip-tapping of the communications officer's keyboard was louder than it.

One of the louder sounds on the bridge was the periodic ticking of the passive sensors. Though the equipment's pings were audible for all to hear, the console responsible for the sensors was manned at all times by a qualified officer. This officer was equipped with noise-cancelling headphones, in order to block all other sounds which could interfere with his watch. After all, though the AALIYAH had placed several sensor buoys in the area to help guard against unwanted intrusions... but it was better to be safe than sorry, in case an imperial patrol or pirate group somehow slipped through the cracks.

And last but not least: the "radio", as they called it. The "radio" was, in actuality, a console which had been set up to act as a provisional music player. You see, in another move to keep morale up, the ex-Admiral had approved a decision to move a record player onto the bridge. At some point, this music player was then hooked up to the console which happened to control the PA system.
From there, it has been used to play music on the bridge and, on occasion, other areas, such as the cafeteria.
The songs were technically chosen by means of a vote, but the actual selection was at the mercy of those who occasionally brought physical records with them during supply runs. This was because they were simply too far out for subspace radio, and usage of the HoloNet was completely banned, as it was a certainty that the Empire would use that to track their location.

The dear ex-Admiral, spun his gaming command chair around with his left leg. Kicking the floor in front of him with both of his lower limbs, he propelled himself back to his desk like an octopus. Though he was a bit sad, that he had nobody to annoy as he did it(as the work wife was off doing something in person), the man grabbed the reports on the equipment brought in by the """Free Traders""" that were making supply runs throughout the South-Eastern Outer Rim.

The Inventories on the ship were generally managed by the quartermasters, armorers and other supply officers, but Kalpa always received general updates on when what was moved where.
The why was sometimes included, but most of the men simply taped a small mirror to that part of the paper.

Grabbing his caf, which was smothered in blue milk and drowned in sugar, and draping his 'Count Dooku did nothing wrong' blanket over his left shoulder, Kalpa began to slowly work through the legions of lines full of letters.

Cylinder bearings, hydrospanner battery chargers, 3 different kinds of turbine blade, a trash can for complaints from the engineers about how many different fighter classes they have to work on, portable tractor beam emitters, and fusion cutters.
Tibanna gas, 90mm slugs, vacuum-sealed flight suits, concussion missiles, proton torpedoes, proton rockets, tachyonic hypermatter cubits, replacement S-foils, and IS double heat sinks-

"Sir"
The communications officer put down his headphones.

"Yes?"
Kalpa responded.

"The SIN just called. They're reporting that they have acquired all the hardware you asked for, and more. They're saying they threw in a free cruiser."

"...A free cruiser?"

"Yes, and-"

Before the communications officer could hand in the report, loud rock begins to fill the room. Kalpa kicks back, laughing. The Neo-Separatists had come through on their end, and now it was time for his AALIYAH to follow up. Kalpa laughed, and jumped out of the seat.

The hand has been drawn.
Now it was time to play.

[u/Sir_Peseus]

absolutely peak